Tangled Pirate
by Grimm48
Summary: When Rapunzel and Flynn enter the snuggling duckling, they catch the attention of a former pirate, who tries to prove his loyalty to the king of Corona in order to become a guard. Pairing: Rapunzel x Zhou Tai
1. Chapter 1

Summary: When Rapunzel and Flynn enter the snuggling duckling, they catch the attention of a former pirate, who tries to prove his loyalty to the king of Corona in order to become a guard.

Pairing: Rapunzel x Zhou Tai

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Disney or Dynasty Warrior franchise.

* * *

"Garcon your finest table please." Flynn says opening the door to the restaurant and pushing Rapunzel in. She freezes up upon seeing the rough looking men eyeing her and Flynn and raises her frying pan to protect herself.

"You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose, to me that smells like part man-smell and really bad-man smell. I don't know why but overall I just smell the color brown." Flynn tells Rapunzel, pushing her further into the room, surrounded by countless ruffians.

"That's a lot of hair." One says, touching the blonde hair dragging behind Rapunzel.

"Is that blood in your mustache? Goldie, look at this. There is a lot of blood in his mustache." Flynn tells her to scare her and catches up to Rapunzel who walked to the very back of the restaurant, accidentally bumping into a man around her age, who's about the same build and height as Flynn, but is wearing all black clothes with red lining and black armguards, with a Katana lying on the table in front of him and his head turned away from the room.

"Goldie, you don't look too good, why don't I take you home and we call it a day. You'd probably be better off. This is a five-star joint afterall, I mean if you can't handle this place, let me bring you back to your tower." Flynn suggests and tries to lead her out of the restaurant again but some of the men recognize him and fight over who gets to cash in the bounty that's on his head with one of them leaving to fetch a guard.

Rapunzel then convinces the men to let her and Flynn go so he can help her fulfill her dream, something the men can relate to, most of them having unfulfilled dreams of their own.

* * *

When the guards arrive at the restaurant Flynn takes Rapunzel and pulls her behind the bar, where The man Rapunzel bumped into earlier meets up with them and shows them a secret passage out of the restaurant and leads them down the tunnel to escape the guards.

"Thank you for you help, but who are you?" Rapunzel says, following the man who helped her and Flynn escape.

"My name is Tai Zhou." He informs them.

"Well I've got to say I didn't know you had that in you back there, that was very… impressive." Flynn tells Rapunzel, disappointed his plan didn't work.

"I know." She shouts excited.

"What is the deal with you two?" Tai asks them, glancing back at the group, letting them see the scar under his left eye up close.

"I want to see the lanterns in the sky and Flynn will bring me to them." Rapunzel replies immediately.

"Don't the lanterns get released every year? How come you haven't seen them before?" Tai asks.

"Uhh, long story." She replies and they suddenly hear a lot of noise coming from behind them.

"Run." Tai tells them and starts to run forwards.

"What?" Flynn and Rapunzel ask confused but chase after him upon seeing the guards closing in on them.

When they reach the end of the tunnel they come out behind a dam, overlooking a large canyon.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asks, seeing two armed men bust through a mineshaft in the canyon and look up at them.

"They don't like me." Flynn says.

"And that?" Rapunzel asks, looking back at the guards, who caught up to them.

"They don't like me either." Flynn answers.

"Here!" Rapunzel says and hands him her frying pan before using her hair as a rope to swing to the other side of the canyon, leaving the two men behind to face they guards.

Flynn turns towards them, fearing his capture but Tai quickly unsheathes and sheathes his Katana with the guards falling down unconscious before they can take another step.

"Can you teach me that?" Flynn asks excited.

"No." Tai simply tells him and runs towards the cliff, running a few steps along the wall before jumping off and landing beside Rapunzel.

On the other side of the Canyon Flynn starts to fence with the horse which initially chased him through the woods and to Rapunzel's tower until he loses the match.

Rapunzel wraps her hair around his wrist and pulls Flynn over the edge, letting him swing through the canyon with Tai helping her hold his weight.

Flynn lands on a water way, letting the water flow down a wooden path and tells Rapunzel to jump when the horse kicked over one of the dam's support beams to reach her. She looks towards Tai for a second, who gives her a quick nod and she jumps down with Flynn holding the end of her hair to let her down easy. Tai simply jumps down into the canyon and starts to run towards Flynn and Rapunzel's location while the dam starts to break behind them.

Tai soon dashes by the two men who are looking for Flynn because he stole their loot and is right behind Rapunzel and Flynn, who run towards a cave entrance with a huge boulder crashing down above them, threating to crush them.

Tai manages to cut one of the large pieces of debris falling towards Rapunzel and her companion in half with the halves landing right beside the two and Tai landing just behind Flynn, catching the frying pan which is flying through the air above him just before the three dive into the cave, escaping the boulder. When they are in the cave however with water pouring in and the water level rising in the small cave, they quickly realize their mistake and both men dive underwater to look for a way out with no success.

"It's no use we can't see anything, it's pitch black down there." Flynn says, stopping Rapunzel from attempting to look for a way out as well.

"This is all my fault, I should've never escaped the tower. I'm so sorry Flynn." Rapunzel says while Tai continues looking for a way out.

"Eugene." Flynn says.

"What?" She asks confused.

"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. I thought you should know." He tells her.

"I have magic hair that glows when I sing." Rapunzel says and realizes that they might have a way out. She quickly sings a few lines of a song before the two have to take a deep breath, the water reaching over their heads. Moments later Rapunzel's hair lights up, showing them a weak spot in the rockbed and Tai quickly punches against the weaker rock wall, breaking through after a few hits and letting them escape, all three of them landing in a small river flowing underneath the cave they were in.

* * *

Once they're outside the three heft themselves to the shore.

"We made it, alive." Rapunzel says relieved.

"Your hair glows." Flynn says shocked and Tai simply coughs, having been holding his breath a while longer.

"Tai, are you OK?" Rapunzel then asks him, helping him to his feet.

"I'll live." He says holding one hand in pain because he broke it when he punched through the wall.

"Eugene, help me with him." Rapunzel says and looks over to her guide only to see him running away in the distance with Pascal pointing in his direction wildly.

"Eugene!" She shouts, but he simply continues running away, yelling "Her hair glows!" in fear.

"What was that back in the cave?" Tai asks Rapunzel, sitting down, facing the river with her joining him, holding her legs to her chest, hurt that Eugene fled from her.

"My hair has special powers, which is why I can't cut it. If I cut it, it loses its magic." Rapunzel explains.

"So? Do you need that magic?" He asks.

"Here, let me show you what it does." Rapunzel says and wraps some hair around his hurt hand. She then starts to sing a song, healing his hand in the process.

"Amazing." Tai says, closing his fist to see if he feels any pain.

"Apparently it's not that amazing." She says, looking towards where Flynn escaped to.

"Why did you need him anyways?" Tai asks.

"He promised to bring me to the floating lights and I give him his crown in return." Rapunzel explains.

"He stole that crown you know." Tai tells her.

"Yeah, I guessed as much." She replies before sneezing.

"Come on, let's make a fire and rest here tonight." Tai suggests, helping her up and pulling her towards a large tree. He quickly cuts up a few branches of wood from a neighboring tree and makes a small fire with them.

"Hey, I realize that I don't know why you wanted to come with us." Rapunzel asks him, looking at him in the shine of the fire since night has fallen already.

"Well I was actually after Flynn's bounty, so I could prove myself to the king of Corona and maybe sway him to let me join the guard, but I knew that that would destroy your dream so I'm putting it off until after you've seen the lanterns and are safe back home." Tai tells her.

"I… don't know what to say. Thank you so much." Rapunzel thanks him.

"Like the others in the duckling said, we all have dreams." Tai says.

"What is yours?" She asks intrigued.

"Oh, I've already tried to fulfill mine, but as it turns out it was a bad dream." He tells her.

"There is no such thing." Rapunzel says disagreeing.

"I wanted to be a pirate, and I was for a long time. But giving up that dream was probably my best decision yet. Even though that's where I got this from." Tai tells her, pointing at the scar under his eye.

"Wow, pirate huh? I've only read very little about them, but aren't they supposed to be cruel and evil?" She asks curiously.

"Yeah, I'm going to be honest. I did steal and injure a lot of people, but I never intentionally hurt someone. I only did it to protect myself. That's why I have this as reminder." He explains.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"Well, my pirate crew didn't like me, their strongest fighter letting their enemies live and they tried to force me to kill a group of unarmed villagers. I escaped their hold and freed the villagers, killing many of my fellow pirates and getting this wound during the fight.

"Then you don't have anything to be ashamed off, I think. You sound like a good person." She tells him.

"I'm not, but thank you for giving me the benefit of a doubt." He says with a small smile and hears her stomach grumble.

"Stay here, I'll go collect some berries." Tai tells her and disappears into the night to get them something to eat.

Moments later Rapunzel's mother shows up.

"Well I thought he'd never leave." She says, revealing herself to Rapunzel.

"Mother? How did you find me?" She asks shocked.

"Oh that was easy, I just followed the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that. Now let's go home Rapunzel." She says, hugging Rapunzel.

"Mother, please you don't understand. I've been on this incredible journey and have seen so much, I even met someone." Rapunzel tells her.

"Yes, a wanted thief and a filthy pirate. Come on Rapunzel." The mother replies, trying to drag her away.

"Mother wait, I think he likes me." Rapunzel says.

"Likes you? Please, don't be childish. I should've never left. Now don't be a dummy and come with mommy." Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel.

"No!" Rapunzel says decisively and her mother leaves after telling her that she's making a mistake.

"Rapunzel, are you OK?" Tai asks, seeing the girl look into the dark forest.

"Yeah, just lost in thought." Rapunzel tells him, accepting some berries he offers her. Meanwhile Mother Gothel meets up with the two thieves who were after Flynn, whom she convinced of helping her capture Rapunzel, giving them the crown as payment as well as telling them why Rapunzel and her hair is special.

* * *

The next morning Tai leads Rapunzel to Corona without any more problems. When she enters the city however there are so many people walking around that her hair gets caught or stepped on multiple times, so Rapunzel and Tai quickly collect her blonde hair and Tai gets the idea to let a group of girls who were braiding each other's hair braid Rapunzel's hair to shorten it.

The girls readily agree and a couple minutes later Rapunzel has a wide braid reaching to her ankles, decorated with flowers.

"Oh Thank you." Rapunzel thanks them gratefully.

Rapunzel then sees a mosaic picture of the king, his wife and their missing daughter on the plaza's wall while Tai fetches them some food.

Once he got the food however somehow Rapunzel started dancing and is roping in the citizens in her dance with Tai waiting at the sidelines. After that Rapunzel proves her talent for art when she draws the Corona symbol, decorated along its edges on the pavement, covering a quarter of the plaza. Afterwards Tai shows her to the library where she starts to read whatever she can get her hands on and what catches her interest.

The two stay in the library until it's evening and the lanterns will soon be released into the skies.

* * *

Tai leads her to the docks and takes the rowing boat he arrived in Corona with a long time ago and rows them further to sea to give her the best view possible.

"Are you sure we can take this boat?" Rapunzel asks him while he's rowing them away from the docks.

"Why not? It's mine after all." He tells her.

"Where are you taking me?" She asks.

"You ask a lot of questions you know." He says amused.

"Sorry." She apologizes.

"I didn't say I mind." He tells her with a smirk.

"And I think you deserve a special view while fulfilling your dream, don't you?" Tai asks.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tai asks her half an hour later, lying in the small boat, looking towards the sky while Rapunzel looks towards the city pensively.

"I'm terrified, I've been looking out my window for 18 years, dreaming of what I'd feel when I see the lights rise in the sky, what if it's not everything I've dreamed it'd be?" She asks.

"I think you won't be disappointed, but on the off chance that does happen, If you want I'm willing to help you look for another dream." Tai tells her, joining her at the side of the boat, leaning on the railing next to her.

Soon after the lanterns get released all over the city and Rapunzel storm to the front of the boat where she can see the first lanterns rising.

"Slow down. It's been a long time since I went out to sea with this nutshell." Tai tells her when the boat shakes from her eagerness.

Rapunzel stares in the sky for a while until she feels Pascal's small hands pull on her earlobe and she turns to face Tai, who's sitting at the other end of the small boat, holding two lanterns.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything for you." Rapunzel says disappointed, accepting one of the lanterns.

"You already gave me what I was looking for." He says.

"What?" She asks intrigued.

"Someone to accept me." He says, releasing his lantern and swinging his sword in quick strikes towards the floating lantern, carving the sun pattern she drew earlier on it. Tai quickly puts away his sword, joining her on the seats again and she takes one of his hands, looking deeply into his eyes.

The two of them then lean in for a kiss when she suddenly shoots up, asking "Is that supposed to happen?" and points downwards, where a slowly growing puddle forms in the middle of the boat.

"I said it's been a while." Tai says and quickly gets the rows, rowing them to the closest shore which is right next to a forest.

Once he rowed over there and dragged the boat to shore, he hears something in the woods and gets the feeling of being watched.

"Stay here and stay down. Don't follow me. No matter what you hear." Tai tells Rapunzel, making her hide in the boat while he walks into the woods, drawing his Katana.

A few seconds after he disappeared into the woods Rapunzel hears metal clanging.

* * *

Tai, going to see what or who's watching them comes upon the two men hired by Rapunzel's mother to take her back and they demand he hands her over, which Tai refuses to do.

The two then start to attack Tai, who blocks them with ease, until one of the two throws dirt into his eyes and he gets cut on his arm. The three continue to fight for maybe 1 and a half minutes, before Tai beats them but falls down paralyzed by a poison which was coating the two henchmen's blades.

"Crap, I hope that's all of them." Tai curses.

"Oh, yes they were everyone I needed. Now I'll just finish you off and take my beautiful girl back home." Mother Gothel says, stepping out of the shadow with a dagger and starts to cut Tai all over his Torso, over his shoulders, his forearms and three deeper cuts across his torso, making the tough man scream in pain and pass out due to it.

"Tai!" Rapunzel shouts in fear and discards her thoughts of safety, dashing into the woods towards where he escaped only to find her mother holding Tai in her arms.

"I tried to help him but I was too late. He managed to safe you from these two before he succumbed to his own wounds." Her mother lies and embraces Rapunzel who run over to her crying her eyes out.

"Wait, I can help him." Rapunzel says, taking her braided hair in her hands but her mother takes her hands off her hair saying "No, he's gone already. It's too late for him." She says and pulls Rapunzel with her, who is crying helplessly.

A couple hours later Tai wakes up in the Snuggling Duckling, his torso covered in bandages and hurting like hell.

"Rapunzel!" Tai yells, looking around himself in worry.

"She's not here. They found you in the woods about to die and the mime stitched you up." Flynn tells him, sitting at the table he's lying on.

"Where did you meet her? The woman said she's taking her home." Tai asks him, sitting up in pain.

"There is a high tower hidden in a clearing." Flynn says.

"Alright, here's the deal. You take me to her and I won't turn you in to the guards." Tai offers to Flynn, holding his Katana under the man's throat.

"OK." Flynn agrees sweating slightly under the man's dangerous glare.

When the two step outside the restaurant the white horse which was looking for Flynn sees them and storms towards them, intending to capture the thief, only to stop dead in its tracks when it makes eye contact with Tai, who looks at it like prey about to be slaughtered.

The horse whimpers and kneels down, bowing it's head in respect.

"Take us to Rapunzel." Tai says, getting on the horse with Flynn. The horse then takes off in a gallop, lead by Flynn and an hour and a half later the two men and one horse reach the tower.

* * *

"Rapunzel let down your hair." Flynn shouts up the tower and moments later golden hair is being let down like a rope.

Tai quickly grasps the hair, climbing up the tower with much difficulty, given his wounds all over his torso, which open up from the strain he puts on them.

When he reaches the top, he stumbles into the tower, seeing Rapunzel being tied and gagged in the room.

He feels someone behind him and turns just in time to block the dagger aimed at him curtesy of Rapunzel's mother. Tai quickly disarms the woman, causing the dagger to fly into the roof where it gets stuck and Tai limps over to Rapunzel, removing the gag from her mouth.

"Rapunzel, are you OK?" He asks her concerned, removing the chains from around the girl with Mother Gothel furiously looking for another weapon.

"Tai, careful she's not my mother." Rapunzel warns him.

"You, whoever you are, you are only after one thing, aren't you?" Tai asks the woman accusingly.

"So what? I need her hair." The woman screams angrily!

Tai looks towards Rapunzel once and says "well too bad." Before cutting off most of Rapunzel's hair with his Katana, leaving her with brown colored hair that reaches to her midsection.

"Nooo! What have you done?" The woman screams out and holds her head in frustration, quickly starting to pale and turn to dust while falling out of the tower with Pascal tripping her.

"No, Tai what did you do? I could've saved you." Rapunzel says sorrowful, hugging the man who's now resting against a wall close to herself, trying to cover him with her now brown hair and sings her song as usual only for nothing to happen.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine with this. I finally feel like I've made up for all the bad I let happen." Tai tells her, holding her hand and giving the back of it a kiss before falling back against the wall lifelessly with Rapunzel crying over his lifeless body sorrowfully. One of her tears lands in one of his reopened wounds and suddenly a bright light begins covering half of his torso, all over where he's been cut and flowers of energy bloom from them.

Tai's eyes open slightly moments later.

"Tai? Tai you are alive." Rapunzel says happily, glomping onto him, only for him to scream in pain.

"Argh, if I had known coming back to live would hurt this much I'd have thought twice about it." He groans, leaning back against the wall.

"Tai." She says, her eyes still brimming with tears and he wipes them away before she quickly grasps his shirt and pulls him closer to herself, kissing him with him deepening the kiss moments later.

At this sight Flynn enters the room, having found the staircase of the tower after the large amount of hair fell out of the tower along with someone turning to dust.

"What is this?" Flynn asks, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Blondie already growing up huh?" He asks with a smirk.

"Once I have a strong grip on my blade again, you'll pay for that." Tai tells him.

"Yeah yeah, just be glad I'm going to help you down his ridiculously high tower." Flynn tells him, throwing Tai's arm over his shoulder and walking down the tower with him and with Rapunzel following close behind.

"Oh, there is something I forgot to tell you. I figured it out before my … chained me up." Rapunzel tells them.

"I'm the long-lost princess of Corona. I remembered where I knew that flower pattern from. I remember looking up at the King and Queen with the insignia painted on the roof." Rapunzel tells them happily.

"Uhh, if they believe you, do you think you could do something about the whole fugitive and thief thing?" Flynn asks her, putting air quotes.

"Sure." She agrees with a small smirk.

"So, how are we doing this?" I mean two people on a horse are pushing it but three?" Flynn asks as they walk over to the white horse that brought the two men.

"Do you know the way back to Corona?" Tai asks the horse, using his sword as crutch while looking in it's eyes and the horse nods proudly.

"After you Rapunzel." Tai says, helping her up on the horse and getting on after her.

"Thank you for bringing me to her, just think of this as being even for letting Rapunzel down at the river." Tai says, riding away with Rapunzel, who grins back at Flynn.

"Oh come on." Flynn says disappointed and starts to make his way to Corona as well.

* * *

When Tai and Rapunzel arrive in the city Rapunzel immediately drags him to the castle, where she tells a guard that she is the king's daughter and he leaves to inform the King and Queen of the claim, who come storming out of the castle a couple minutes later and see her waiting for them, looking towards the two with hopeful eyes, looking like a younger version of her mother, especially with her hair now brown.

The Queen slowly walks over to her and puts her hand on Rapunzel's cheek before breaking out in a wide smile and hugging her daughter with all her might. In the embrace Rapunzel looks up to her father, who cries tears of joy as he joins his wife and daughter in their embrace.

Tai, who was waiting next to Rapunzel looks at the three, happy for Rapunzel when her real mother offers her hand, which he accepts, thinking she wants to shake his hand but instead the Queen pulls him in to join the hug, which makes Tai yelp out in pain.

"Argh." He groans, lying on the floor next to the finally reunited family.

"Tai." Rapunzel says worried and helps him sit up against the railing of the balcony they were on.

"What's wrong with him?" Her father asks, looking over his daughters' shoulder, seeing that she cares for the man close to her age.

"It's a long story, but he was hurt while saving me." Rapunzel tells them.

"I will have the royal medicus see to him at once." The king says.

"No, thank you, I don't think he can do much more." Tai replies, taking off his arm guards, showing them the bright red scar along the arm.

"I'm fine, it'll just take a few days to get used to. I mean you don't get cut up and healed by magic everyday right?" Tai asks with a smirk as he stands up, leaning against the railing.

"Thank you so much for bringing our daughter back to us." The Queen thanks him, hugging her daughter again.

* * *

AN: Let me know what you think,

story will continue with story from tangled the series.


	2. Chapter 2

6 months later Rapunzel's official Coronation is coming up and the fact that she is restrained to living in the castle and the city of Corona dawns on her, making her feel a sense of déjà vu after having been imprisoned in a tower for 18 years.

On the days before her coronation the royal family are having guests from other kingdoms stay at their castle so they can bear witness to Rapunzel's coronation and continue their good relationships. When Rapunzel greets the guests however she makes a fool of herself, not used to the way things work as a princess yet and she sneaks out to the harbor that night, sitting down in the very same boat Tai first showed her the lanterns in and looks over the water lost in thought.

"Do you want some company?" Tai asks, sitting down on the bridge above her.

"Sure." She agrees sullenly, still hugging her knees to her chest.

"Don't take it to heart. You'll get the hang of things in time." Tai tells her, sliding in the seat next to her, dressed in a special battle armor with the Corona symbol and his Katana hanging from his waist.

"You saw?" She asks embarrassed.

"I'm part of the royal guard." He reminds her with a small grin, leaning back on the boat.

"Right." She says, looking back over the water.

"So, what's on your mind?" He asks, removing his Katana and lying it at his feet.

"Do you ever feel like you don't belong here?" Rapunzel asks, picking up his sword and taking it out of its sheath, holding it up playfully.

"As if you'd need to ask. I mean I was a pirate." He laughs and takes the Katana back carefully, not wanting her to hurt herself.

"Still is this everything you wanted it to be?" She asks him.

"Hard to say, if I'm being honest, I don't have a dream per se, I only wish to be a person I can be proud of and to keep you save and happy. And from the looks of it I'm not faring much on the last part huh?" He replies with a sigh.

"No, Wait I mean I am happy, it's just I want to see what else is out there. I don't want to go from being imprisoned in that tower to being imprisoned in the city." She tells him, looking to the stars.

"Have you talked to your father about this?" He asks, facing her directly.

"Yes, I think. I know he's just worried about me and I don't want him to constantly fear I'm in danger." She answers.

"Hmm. I see, that is a problem." Tai agrees, nodding his head.

"Time to go!" Cassandra shouts from behind the two, getting by a Katana held under her chin.

"I told you not to sneak up on me if you want to keep that neck." Tai sighs loudly, turning to face Cassandra while sheathing his sword and helps Rapunzel back on the bridge.

"See, he's scary." Eugene says, hiding behind Cassandra.

"Rapunzel, it's time to head in. You don't want to exhausted tomorrow." Cassandra tells her and the group of four head back to the castle since both Tai and Eugene are staying within the castle walls. Eugene as guest and Tai as a special part of the guard.

* * *

The next day Rapunzel spends her day in the city, trying to greet and interact with the citizens, only for the guards dispatched by her father, refraining her from doing so uninterrupted. Only when they walked over the town square and Rapunzel sees Tai waiting near the fountain her day starts to get better.

"Tai!" She shouts excited, rushing over to him, figuring that the guards will leave their comrade be, but instead two of her guards rush past her, blocking the way and say "State your business."

"Seriously? I figured Rapunzel might be hungry, so I got her something to eat." He tells them.

One of the two guards intends to test the food, but the next thing he knows he's sailing through the air, landing a couple feet away from the squadron.

"Arrest him!" The rest of the squadron shout and storm at Tai, only to get knocked down in a matter of seconds.

"So, want to continue exploring the town?" Tai offers her, as well as holding out a cupcake for her.

"Yes." She says happily, jumping over her downed guards, shooting them a quick apology and joins Tai, linking one of her arms in his and trying the cupcake.

"Mhh, this is delicious, where did you get it?" she asks.

"Attila made it for you." He informs her.

"Oh, that's nice of him." She says smiling.

Tai then continues to walk around town with her and lets her actually talk and interact with the citizens while making sure she's safe and not budging from her side.

* * *

That evening in Rapunzel's chambers.

"So, big day in town wasn't all you hoped it'd be?" Cassandra asks Rapunzel, who's sitting on her bed.

"Well at first not but Tai helped turn things around." She replies with a wide smile.

"I don't know why, but I don't like him." Cassandra says, trying to think of a reason for not liking the princess's sort-of-boyfriend.

"You should, he's great. But I don't understand why my father won't let me see the world." Rapunzel complains.

"You know if you really wanted, I could get you in and out of here before anyone even knew you were gone." Cassandra informs her.

"The Royal banquet is ready to receive the princess." A servant announces while knocking on Rapunzel's door.

"Cheer up, I mean what could go wrong?" Cassandra says and the two head to the banquet hall.

"I don't understand why you are so upset sweetheart? I said you could do whatever you wanted and you did. In fact I should be upset that your friend attacked his comrades and basically kidnapped you." The King tells Rapunzel while they are eating, sitting at a single table with his daughter and wife while the guests are seated at two other tables and Tai is standing guard just behind the royal family.

"You know that he didn't kidnap me. In fact if how easily he incapacitated the guards is anything to go by he should've protected me from the start." Rapunzel says.

Eugene then holds a big speech in front of the royal gathering, asking for Rapunzel's hand in marriage, having figured that since she and Tai aren't officially a thing, now's the last chance to find out what she feels for him. While he's asking for her hand the King looks at him with a frown while Tai is visibly strained to hold himself back from voicing his opinion on the matter.

Rapunzel looks to her family during the proposal, completely blindsided by it and notices Tai basically trembling in anger.

"I'm sorry. I can't I like you Eugene, but I don't think we're meant to be. Please excuse me." She says and flees the hall, not only freaking out because of the proposal but because he made her realize that as princess, she may even be required to stay in the castle forever and never gets to see the outside world. Cassandra hurries after the scared princess and the King tells the guests to continue to enjoy their meal.

"Tai, go look after her." The King orders, knowing of the feeling the guard holds for his daughter and vice versa.

"I'm sorry your majesty, I wasn't sure if Rapunzel liked me or not and I just thought that her Coronation would be the perfect time to find out." Eugene apologizes to the King for causing a scene.

"Well now you know, don't you." The King tells the young man, who excuses himself from the hall and heads back to his room.

* * *

"Oh, I feel horrible about Eugene, but I don't love him. I think I'm in love with Tai but I don't know what he feels and I… I just need to get out and clear my head, without a fleet of guards tailing me." Rapunzel rambles to her only female friend.

"Say no more." Cassandra says and leads them to her room , where she has a mini armory in her closet and the two change into something stealthier and Cassandra takes a sword with her.

"Pascal, I need you to stay in my room and cover for me." Rapunzel tells the smart Chameleon, who salutes and hurries to the princess's chamber.

Tai knocks on her door soon after and enters after receiving no reply, simply having ignored the guards in front of her room since his rank is only second to that of the captain, Cassandra's father.

"Rapunzel?" Tai asks, looking around the empty room confused and Pascal increases the light behind him, while he's standing on a mannequin while holding some flowers over his head to look like the princesses hair.

"Rapunzel? Are you alright?" He asks, going over to the suspicious room separator and looks behind it, seeing the distressed chameleon, who tries to hide himself by turning the same color as the mannequin.

"Pascal, where is Rapunzel?" Tai asks, eyeing the chameleon dangerously, but he only shrugs and faints from the intense glare aimed at him.

"Great. Now, how do I find you Rapunzel?" Tai asks himself.

"Wait, let's think she made Pascal cover for her so she'll probably be a while. Which means she's going somewhere beyond the walls. But which direction?" Tai asks himself, stepping on her balcony and looking towards the walls surrounding the city.

Tai then notices an owl flying around like it's following something, or rather someone.

"Cassandra." He says and hops off the balcony, making his way to the Owl's location, quickly catching up to the two girls and following them on foot, with some difficulty since they are on horse but he keeps an eye on the Owl soaring over the two girls heads and uses that to his advantage.

* * *

When he gets to an old bridge, which looks like it's about to collapse he sees the two girls' horses standing in front of it.

"Maximus. Where is the princess?" Tai asks the horse, sounding exhausted from running after them on foot

The horse looks at him, pondering whether to tell him and quickly folds, pointing a hoof over the bridge.

"Thank you." Tai says sarcastically and when he's about to head over the bridge the two girls run right at him, Rapunzel with her hair blonde and as long as it was when they met while being chased by rock spikes which shoot out of the ground.

Maximus wants to help them and takes a step on the bridge, only for Tai to yank him back when a portion of the bridge crumbles underneath the horse's hoof.

"Cassandra, my hair!" Rapunzel yells because she's stuck on the bridge, her long hair having gotten caught in a crack on the far end of the bridge.

Cassandra tries to pull it out with Rapunzel from their current position but it doesn't budge.

"Sorry." Tai says, jumping over Cassandra, pushing himself over the girl with one hand and he heads for the end of Rapunzel's hair with the bridge flying up and come crashing down, separated from the other side after the spikes penetrated the stone bridge.

Tai quickly runs down the bridge, sliding to halt where Rapunzel's hair is trapped and he kicks at the crack holding it down, releasing her long blonde hair while the bridge starts to slide down into the depths beneath.

"Tai!" Rapunzel screams, trying to go back for him but Cassandra, being stronger than her pulls her along with her, jumping to safety just before the bridge collapses, taking Tai down with it.

Rapunzel looks to the depths below, yelling his name repeatedly while tears flow down her face uncontrollably until she hears a rumbling sound from the bottom of the ravine, followed by loud coughing.

"Tai! Are you hurt?" Rapunzel yells, trying to peer over the edge, but can't see anything but total darkness.

"I think so, but I have no idea how to get out of here, can you send some men back to collect me?" Tai replies.

"No, everyone will find out I sneaked you out." Cassandra says worried.

"Hey, I have an idea." Rapunzel tells her and collects her hair, throwing the end of it over the cliff and wrapping it around a tree.

"I guess that works too, that is your hair right and I'm not seeing things?" Tai shouts up.

"Yes, grab a hold and we'll pull you up." Rapunzel tells him and Tai starts to climb up the wall of the ravine, using the hair as a rope. When he reaches the top Rapunzel immediately pulls him further onto solid ground and hugs him for all she's worth, burying her head in his chest.

"It's OK I'm alright. It'll take a lot more than a 40 feet drop to keep me from making sure you're safe." Tai tells her, brushing her blonde hair lovingly.

"Wait, blonde? How'd that happen and why is it so long again?" Tai asks shocked, realizing the change.

"Uhm… I touched a magic rock and it grew back but we were chased by those spiky stones?" Rapunzel tells him, pointing to the other side where black stones are sprouting out of the ground.

"Not to sound inconsiderate but can we have this conversation on the road? I would very much like to keep my job." Cassandra asks the two and Tai gets up with Rapunzel, helping her on Maximus before taking a seat behind the now once again blonde princess.

* * *

After the three have sneaked back in the castle, into the princess's room to be exact Rapunzel immediately tells Cassandra "Quick, hand me those scissors."

"So what do you want to do here? A bob, or do you want some layers?" Cassandra asks, fetching the scissors.  
"Just cut it." Rapunzel tells her urgently and Cassandra takes a strand of hair, cutting it, only for the scissors to come apart instead, with the hair not getting a scratch on them.

"Oh-oh." Tai says.

"Oh-oh, why Oh-oh, there shouldn't be any Oh-ohs." Rapunzel says worried and turns to see the now destroyed scissors.

"Was you hair always this strong?" Cassandra asks.

"No. Try again." Rapunzel insists.

"It's true, before I could cut it with no resistance whatsoever." Tai informs the handmaiden.

Cassandra then tries her dagger, which bends instead of cutting the hair.

"We're going to need a plan B." Rapunzel says and Cassandra, as well as Tai try basically any bladed weapon they can find, safe for Tai's Katana but none of them work on the princess's hair.

"Forget it, it's just like those stupid rocks." Cassandra curses when nothing worked.

"We can't forget it. Today is my coronation day." Rapunzel reminds her handmaiden.

"Hey, Blondie are you in there?" Eugene asks, knocking on the door.

"You can't let Eugene see you." Cassandra implores Rapunzel.

"Why?" Rapunzel questions.

"If anyone finds out I sneaked you out last night I'm in big trouble." Cassandra tells her.

"But I trust Eugene." Rapunzel says.

"I don't. And if my dad finds out what happened I'll never see you again." Cassandra tells her.

The three of them then try to hide Rapunzel's hair all around the room due the the amount but to no avail.

"Rapunzel, stand back I'm coming in." Eugene says and opens the door, seeing Rapunzel stand in the midst of her golden hair with Cassandra and Tai each holding an armful and some stuffed under her bed, in her closet and hanging from the ceiling.

"Holy … hair." Eugene says and faints.

"Hmpf." Tai grunts at the scene and drags him further in the room, shutting the door behind Eugene.

"Can you wake him?" Cassandra requests of Tai, who gets a small smirk and slaps the former thief across his face, jolting him awake.

"Whoa, hey, mama OK. This is new, I mean no, not new. That whole magic stuff is involved again right? I'm just going to assume your hair grew magically back. And obviously you don't want to tell me how, but just tell me how!" Eugene implores her, freaking out and sitting down on one of the seats in her room.

"Sorry, I can't." Rapunzel tells him.

"What? I thought we trusted each other. OK I mean my proposal yesterday might've been a bit premature, but I thought I was your friend." Eugene rambles.

"Rapunzel honey?" The Queen asks from outside.

"Hide your hair woman, you've got to hide your hair." Eugene tells her, helping Cassandra collect the soon to be princess's hair while Tai stands in front of the door, denying the Queen entrance.

"May I come in sweetheart?" The Queen asks.

"You can't. I'm brushing my teeth." Rapunzel lies.

"Oh, good but why can't I come in?" The Queen questions.

"Oh, uhm morning breath. I wouldn't want to expose you to that." Rapunzel tells her.

"That's uhm, thoughtful of you. Well your father and I want you to join us on the terrace for breakfast. And Rapunzel your father has something very important to share with you, he's been waiting all night." The Queen tells her.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you there in a minute." Rapunzel tells her and the Queen leaves.

"The coronation is in two hours, how am I supposed to cut this hair?" Rapunzel questions.

"I don't see why you want to cut it so desperately, if you don't want anyone to find out Cassandra sneaked you out, just say I did it." Tai suggests.

"No, if I do that my dad will kick you off the guard." Rapunzel says.

"I can live with that." Tai tells her, shrugging his shoulder.

"I might have another solution." Cassandra says and fixes Rapunzel's hair under a wig about half the size of a normal person.

* * *

"So, Rapunzel are you ready for the big day?" The Queen asks once Rapunzel joins her parents for breakfast.

"You bet, I'm already in the princess spirit, the bigger the wig the better the princess." Rapunzel replies.

"Rapunzel, last night your mother and I had a discussion and I know that I have trouble separating the man from the King and separating the dad from the King is even more difficult, sweetheart I know your new life is hard to get used to and I'm sure that sometimes you just want to do your own thing but Rapunzel, you're going to be Queen someday but you know better than anyone what a dangerous and evil place the world can be. And keeping the Evil at bay is my job, but one day that will be your job. But that is many, many years away. And I'm asking you to trust me that I'm trying to keep danger away from you and this Kingdom. It wasn't until last night that I learned that my methods might seems strict or unfair." The King tells her.

"Does that mean I can have some time by myself without having half the royal guard over my shoulder?" Rapunzel asks.

"It means I'm willing to reconsider some of my methods." The King tells her and gives Rapunzel a hug.

"Well, I should go. I have a lot of princessing up to do." Rapunzel tells her parents and leaves.

Meanwhile in Cassandra's room Eugene tries to find out what Rapunzel is keeping secret from him from the girl, only to learn nothing and piss of Cassandra further.

Half and hour after the breakfast the Queen visits Rapunzel and gives her a coronation gift, which is a journal of her own adventures as well as an empty book for her to write down her very own adventures.

* * *

|One and a half hour later|

Rapunzel is going towards the podium where she'll get announced princess, still having her hair hidden under the enormous wig and while she's doing that Lady Kane breaks out her squad of goons from the prison and some of them dress themselves in the guards uniform to sneak to where Rapunzel is being Coronated unnoticed.

"The wearer of this crown is a shining example of the promise that is Corona, an ambassador of good will to those visiting from afar and an inspiration to those fortunate enough to live within her borders. But above all, the chief responsibility of the crown is to keep the people of Corona safe from dangers near and far." The priest announces while Rapunzel is kneeling down in front of the smaller man, prepared to receive her crown.

While the priest is holding his speech, Tai notices the unknown guards appearing at the doors, same as Cassandra and they inform Eugene to get ready silently.

"Attention please!" Lady Kane shouts, interrupting the ceremony, walking into the room with a sword drawn, causing panic amongst the guests who try to leave, only to have the exits blocked by the fake guards while Lady Kane's men collect the visiting royalty and restrain them.

"Release my guests immediately." The King demands.

"What's the matter Fred? Am I ruining your little girls' perfect day?" Lady Kane asks.

"The Duchess?" Rapunzel asks confused, now looking through the criminal's disguise, with Lady Kane having changed clothes.

"Oh honey, I'm no Duchess." The woman tells her.

"I don't understand." Rapunzel says confused.

"Of course you wouldn't but try to follow along, because this is all your fault." The woman tells her, approaching Rapunzel, only stopped by Tai standing in her way, just in front of Rapunzel.

"You see, after your untimely disappearance your father locked up every criminal in the Kingdom, including a simple petty thief, my father. I saw him thrown into a cage and hauled off like an animal. Never to be seen again, so I thought I'd come and return the favor." She tells her while a prison wagon rolls into the room.

"Load them up boys." Lady Kane orders her henchmen, who force the Royalty into the wagon.

"Your turn your majesty. Come on we're not going to leave our price pig in the pen." Lady Kane tells the King, who then gets thrown into the wagon as well.

"Rapunzel, stay back. There is nothing you can do. As your father and your King, I command you to stay put." The King orders her.

"Just say the word." Tai tells Rapunzel, who exchanges a look with Cassandra and Eugene.

"Sorry dad." Rapunzel says and takes off her shoes as well as her wig, revealing her magical golden hair.

"Let them go!" She demands from Lady Kane.

"Hah, as if some hair will change my mind. Come on let's move out." Lady Kane says, stepping onto the side of the wagon, only for the wheels to get cut in half underneath her feet, curtesy of Tai, who's sheating his Katana again while Rapunzel rips the door of its hinges with her hair.

"Now you're just making me angry." Lady Kane says.

"Good, cause I'm just getting started." Rapunzel replies.

"Rapunzel your hair." The King says shocked.

"We'll talk about it later, take mom and get somewhere safe." Rapunzel says.

"That's my cue." Eugene shouts, knocking two fake guards heads together and Cassandra grabs a human sized candle stick to join the fight.

The four of them then start to fight against the invaders, Cassandra using the stick as a staff while Eugene stole a sword from an opponent and Rapunzel trips and knocks around her enemies with her hair while Tai stands by her side, attacking anyone who comes close to the princess.

"Tai, you go deal with Lady Kane." Rapunzel orders, giving him a look which left him no room to object and he runs over to the redhaired woman, engaging her in a sword fight, gradually overpowering the skilled woman with his superior speed.

While Tai is fighting Lady Kane the King shouts "Rapunzel!", making the Katana wielding guard shift his attention to Rapunzel, who is being held back by her long hair.

Tai sees a frying pan on the wagon next to him and quickly jumps up, kicking the kitchen tool to her. Rapunzel catches it and hits the criminal holding her hair over the head before throwing it over to Eugene, who shouts "Thanks blondie.", having lost his sword moments ago.

Meanwhile Lady Kane uses Tai's shift in focus to throw a dagger at him, hitting him in his shoulder.

Tai looks back over to her after he's sure that Rapunzel is OK and draws his sword, leaving it out of it's scabbard for the first time in a long while.

Feeling the danger emanating through the air, coming from Tai who makes his way over to the woman Lady Kane tries to flee and runs to a door her men closed by jamming it with an axe. She pulls out the axe and immediately get trampled curtesy of Maximus, who was throwing himself against the doors for a while and the doors fall on the redhaired woman.

"Hmpf." Tai grunts, not getting a real fight after all, something he is happy about as well as being disappointed by it.

The King then tells the guests to leave while the guards collect the criminals and lock them up.

The Queen runs over to Rapunzel, giving her a big hug while her father just looks at her disappointed.

* * *

After everyone left Rapunzel tells her father how she got her hair back, leaving out that Cassandra and Tai were involved.

The King then explains that with Rapunzel's hair having returned the very reason she was kidnapped is back and she's in more danger than ever so he forbids her from leaving the Kingdom and its walls, as well as asking her to keep quiet about what happened the night before.

* * *

Rapunzel runs to her room disappointed, where Tai is already waiting for her.

"Hey, I thought you might want some company." Tai tells her, sitting in an opened window.

"Tai." She says rushing over to him and glomping onto him.

"Easy, don't want to throw us out the window now." Tai says, keeping the girl steady in his arms.

"Sorry, I just … my father, he still forbids me from leaving the Kingdom." Rapunzel tells him disappointed until she spots a wet, dark spot on his clothing.

"Hey, what's this?" She asks touching the spot, making Tai wince because she's pressing on where Lady Kane stabbed him.

"Easy OK? I haven't treated it yet, I wanted to make sure you're OK first." Tai tells her, gently taking her hand off his shoulder.

"Tai! Take off your shirt now!" Rapunzel tells him sternly, having almost lost him to a blade before.

"Alright, don't make a big deal of it. It's not that bad." He tells her and takes off his arm guards, his guards vest and his shirt underneath, revealing his toned and scar covered torso to the blonde girl.

"See, just a minor stab wound." He tells her, presenting his shoulder while trying to hide the rest of his body as much as possible from her.

"Why are you being so weird?" She asks him, seeing that he is uncomfortable right now.

"I'm not being weird." He lies convincingly, only to receive a stare from Rapunzel.

"Alright, I don't want you to see me and think of me as damaged." He says, looking at his scars with shame.

"Tai, you don't have anything to be ashamed about. Those scars, they only remind me how much I mean to you and how much you mean to me." She tells him, tracing one hand over the scars over his chest.

"You went all the way from the duckling to my tower with those wounds and freed me. Nearly dying in the process." She says, tears forming in her eyes.

"Come on now, don't cry." Tai says, wiping away the tears as they fall out of her eyes.

"Tai, say what do you think of me?" She asks him, looking in her lap and fiddling with her fingers.

"You will make a great princess one day." He tells her honestly.

"No, I meant like what do I mean to you exactly?" She says, sounding insecure.

"You are my most treasured person." He replies, taking one of her hands in his.

"Will you just tell me if you like me already?" She yells at him, ripping her hand away from him.

"I thought it was pretty obvious that I do." He says genuinely surprised by the question.

"Then… Then why did you never say anything or done anything?" She asks confused.

"I thought you'd be better off with someone else, someone not looking like he's from a horror story." He says, looking down at his scars.

"Tai, you are perfect the way you are. I've loved you ever since you took me to see the lanterns." She says with tears of happiness in her eyes as she closes in and kisses him passionately, only stopping at feeling him twitch when she throws her arms around his neck and brushes over his fresh wound.

"Sorry." She apologizes and gets off the windowsill, takes his hand and pulls him inside.

"Here, let's try something." She says, wrapping some hair around his shoulder and sings, only for nothing to happen.

"Look's like you traded in healing for indestructibleness huh?" Tai says, removing the hair from his shoulder when nothing happens.

"Sorry." She says.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." He tells her, brushing some hair out of her eyes.

"You only got hurt because I needed help, didn't you?" She asks, recalling when Lady Kane struck him.

"Rapunzel, I told you this is nothing, look if it makes you feel any better I'll go see the medicus now." He suggests.

"Yes, let's go." She says and pulls him out of her room and towards the healer, who patches him up quickly.

* * *

On the way back to her chambers the two come across a few servant girls, who look at Tai with fear upon seeing his still uncovered and scar riddled chest.

Rapunzel sees him feeling down at this and gives him a peck on his cheek and leans into his side while hugging one of his arms.

"Rapunzel, I thought you were in your chambers." The King says surprised, coming across her and Tai with his wife.

"Tai just got checked out by the healer." Rapunzel informs him while her father and mother stare at Tai's scar riddled torso, not having known about them, only having seen the one he revealed when he took of his arm guard the day he brought Rapunzel back.

"Oh, you poor boy, I'm sorry that happened." Rapunzel's mother says, hugging Tai with an unrelenting grip.

"It's OK. Rapunzel saved me after all." Tai says.

"Wait, this was all done when you were protecting our child?" The King asks shocked.

"Everything but this." Rapunzel tells them, pointing at the scar underneath Tai's eye.

"It's late, everyone should retire for the night, don't you think so?" Tai asks Rapunzel.

"Yeah, night mother, father." Rapunzel says, looking at her father disappointed and leaves with Tai.

"Did you know about the scars?" The Queen asks her husband.

"No, the captain never said anything either. I bet he doesn't know as well." The King says.

"It just makes me shudder at the thought that the woman that did that to a young man kept our sweet child locked up for 18 years." The Queen says as she and her husband head to their chambers.

"Well, I guess this is good night." Tai tells Rapunzel once he's wearing his shirt again.

"Say, do you mind staying for a while? I don't want you to leave already." Rapunzel requests, holding his hand.

"OK, but we have to make sure no one finds out or I'm going to be in a lot of trouble." He agrees, kissing her on her forehead and lies down next to her on the bed.

"Tai?" Rapunzel asks after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" He replies.

"Can you hold me?" She asks him and Tai moves over to her and wrapping his arms around the smaller girl, who leans back in his chest.

"Better?" He asks.

"Perfect." She says with a smile on her face.

* * *

AN: Review :)


	3. Chapter 3

|About two weeks later|

"You have to believe me, these dreams are trying to tell me something." Rapunzel tells both Cassandra, who is doing her hair and Tai, who's keeping them company.

"Quiet Rapunzel, you know no one else can know about what happened that night. I was OK with you telling Tai since he saved you but don't tell anyone else." Cassandra advises the princess.

"Why not? Everyone already knows what happened, it's pretty obvious isn't it?" Rapunzel asks.

"Yeah, yeah everyone knows your hair is back but if they find out I sneaked you out of the castle I'm gonna get fired." Cassandra replies.

"OK, but we should tell Eugene, shouldn't we?" Rapunzel asks her two friends.

"No. Definitely not!" Cassandra tells her hurriedly.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea Rapz, it's true that he isn't a thief anymore, but I believe he's still hoping to get a chance to secure his indefinite place in the castle and blabbing your secrets to the King would be one possibility." Tai tells her.

"You both don't trust him? I thought the four of us were friends." Rapunzel asks disappointed.

"No, I'm not his friend. I can't stand the guy." Cassandra replies.

"Rapunzel, I trust him as my friend, I just don't think he can keep a secret even if he wanted to." Tai says, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder in support only to get it knocked off the shoulder by Cassandra.

"What did my ears here? I can't keep a secret huh? Then how come I never told anyone that Pascal is the one who stole Rapunzel's colors last week?... Ups." Eugene, aka. Flynn says as he walks into the room.

"Case and point." Cassandra says, pointing at Flynn accusingly.

"Ok, that was my bad, but seriously I can keep a secret guys!" Flynn says and Rapunzel looks towards Cassandra for advice and only receives a headshake 'No'.

"Sorry, I can't tell you." Rapunzel says with a downcast expression.

"Just let it rest Flynn, it's got nothing to do with you either way." Tai says, patting his girlfriends' hand as he sits down next to her, taking Cassandra's place, who is now staring down Flynn.

"Hmpf. Alright, but just so you know I'm keeping secrets from you too, and a lot of them." Flynn says, leaving the room.

"Tell us one." Cassandra says before he's out of the door.

"Pete, one of the guards has a phobia of mimes." Flynn tells them.

"Not really a secret around here." Tai tells him and Flynn leaves.

"I feel bad about keeping this from him." Rapunzel says sulking a bit.

"It wouldn't change a thing if he knew what happened either way and, in this case it isn't your secret to tell but Cassandra's, since her future's on the line here." Tai tells Rapunzel.

"I guess. Still if I were in his shoes I wouldn't want to be left out." Rapunzel says.

"You know, sometimes you are too good, even for you." Tai says with a grin and pulls her in for a side-hug and gives her a kiss on her temple.

* * *

Later that day Rapunzel is in the castle's gardens, writing something in her diary when Cassandra approaches her.

"I've thought about your hair. There may be a way to get some answers. Secretly just you, me and Tai. I know someone." Cassandra tells the blonde princess.

"I don't like you excluding Eugene intentionally but who is this person you know?" Rapunzel asks intrigued.

"His name is Varian. Supposedly he's a wizard." Cassandra explains.

"Wow, you mean a real life wizard? Does he wear a long black hat and a staff to conjure spells?" Rapunzel questions.

"No, but there are many rumors about Varian and some say he's dangerous." Cassandra informs her.

"But you think he'll be able to help us right?" Rapunzel asks hopefully and Cassandra nods in confirmation.

"Alright, then let's pay this wizard a visit." Rapunzel says and the two girls enter the castle to locate Rapunzel's boyfriend.

After a couple minutes of searching the two find him in the guard's training yard.

"Tai." Rapunzel shouts excitedly and runs over to the Katana wielding guard.

"Rapunzel, what is it?" He asks surprised by her enthusiasm since the last time he's seen her she was sulking about leaving Eugene in the dark.

"Cassandra knows someone who can help find out what's happening with my hair." Rapunzel whispers.

"Great. Who is it?" Tai asks, putting away his sword and shifting his attention to the young princess.

"Varian. He's some kind of wizard according to Cassandra." Rapunzel replies.

"And I'm guessing you want me to accompany you?" Tai asks, walking over to the waiting Cassandra with Rapunzel.

"Yeah. It's going to be great. I can't wait to meet a real wizard." Rapunzel says happily.

"Alright, let's go then." Tai agrees and the three head out on Fidella and one of the Guard's horses.

On the way to Varian they pass the snuggling duckling, where Flynn is paying his old friends a visit and sees the group of three from out of the window and starts to follow them with Maximus.

* * *

When the three arrive at a house in front of a castle's ruins they get off their horses and walk up the stairs.

"This is where Varian lives? Maybe I should've said farewell to my parents before coming here." Rapunzel says nervously, looking around the eerie surroundings and Tai takes her hand to calm her down.

The three enter the building with the doors opening automatically. They follow a corridor to a room filled with a fog of some kind.

"It's only fog, nothing unnatural about this." Rapunzel tells herself, worry evident in her voice and Cassandra steps onto a rope which starts a chain reaction and causes a ball of some kind to be flung at their feet. Tai reacts quickly and janks on Rapunzel's hand, lifting her in the air and catching her in a bridal carry as the ball explodes at their feet and covers their feet and the floor around them in a sticky substance, trapping them in place.

"Great, a gooey trap." Rapunzel says, looking at the substance beneath her.

"Don't worry." Cassandra tells her until a figure steps out of the smoke, wearing a big helmet with colored goggles and asks "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, uhm we were hoping you could answer a few questions about my hair since you're a wizard." Rapunzel tells him nervously, presenting her hair while she's in Tai's arms.

"Wizard? I'm not a magician. I'm an alchemist." Varian tells her, taking off his helmet and reveals to them that he's a boy around their age, maybe a bit younger.

"So what's this stuff?" Tai asks, trying to shake his foot.

"Uhm that's a chemical concoction I made myself. We're having a bit of a racoon problem and with this stuff I'm resolving the problem in a humane way." He tells them, picking up a racoon which slipped in with them and throws it outside.

"That's great and all but can you free us please?" Cassandra says.

"Oh, yeah. Wait a second. There it is." He mumbles and picks up a vial with some powder and pours it around their feet.

"I'm really sorry, your majesty." He apologizes, kneeling before them while Tai let's Rapunzel down once the trap dissolved.

"Your majesty? You know who I am?" Rapunzel asks surprised.

"But of course, I mean look at your hair. Uhm your majesty." He replies.

"Please, just call me Rapunzel." She tells him.

"Really? Thanks. Well there are a lot of rumors going around about how your hair came back, some say magic, but I don't really believe that, like I already told you I'm an alchemist." Varian tells them and moves around Rapunzel, trying to touch her hair, only to find his hand stopped by Tai, who looks at him distrustful.

"Tai, it's OK. He won't hurt me. Right?" Rapunzel asks Varian, who nod his head negative and Tai releases his grip on the younger boy's hand.

"Thanks." She says and gives Tai a peck on his cheeks.

"Now listen here. We need your help but let's get one thing straight. What happens here stays between us." Cassandra warns Varian.

"Deal, so what can you tell me about your hair?" Varian asks Rapunzel, who lets her hair down.

"Well for one it doesn't heal anymore. Also we haven't been able to cut it, with anything." Rapunzel explains.

"Hmm I see, let's see. This machine here will be able to determine everything we need to know about your hair. It's my own creation." He tells them, revealing a contraption to the three.

"Are you sure about this Rapunzel?" Cassandra asks while Rapunzel has already raced to the machine and strapped herself in.

"Uhm just so you know this might get a little…" Varian says.

"Exciting?" Rapunzel asks.

"Sure, let's go with that." He says and starts the machine which then starts to twirl Rapunzel around and pull her hair in different directions. Stopping a few seconds later.

"And that's it. Finished." Varian says.

"Great, well it's not that fun but since it's done." Rapunzel says with a sigh.

"Oh uhm, sorry I meant the first test is done. But don't worry there are only 86 remaining." He tells her and is about to push the button to continue, only to have Tai's sword under his throat.

"Rapz. I don't like this. Not at all." Tai warns her, looking directly in her eyes.

"I have to do this, trust my judgment on this." Rapunzel pleads but Tai remains with his sword aimed at the young alchemist's neck.

"Tai. As your princess I order you to release him and leave." Rapunzel says loudly, closing her eyes so she won't have to look at him, feeling guilty for ordering him.

"Hmpf." Tai grunts and releases the alchemist.

"I'll wait outside then." He tells them and leaves, whispering to Cassandra, "Keep an eye on her." And leaves the handmaiden no room to objections.

* * *

Moments after he stepped outside Flynn arrives at the house.

"What are you doing here alone? I saw you with Rapunzel and Cassandra earlier." Flynn asks Tai surprised.

"They are in there with an alchemist. Rapunzel wants to know about her hair." Tai informs him, sitting down propped against the entryway.

"And why are you outside?" Flynn asks.

"Rapunzel ordered me to leave." He replies through gritted teeth.

"Well blondie didn't order me to leave." Flynn says and steps into the building, only to see Rapunzel strapped to the dangerous looking machine twirling her around and trying to cut her hair off.

"Wow you really can't destroy your hair." Varian says impressed when a sawblade goes flying off his contraption.

"But I can destroy you, release her." Flynn shouts entering the room dramatically.

"Eugene, uhm Hey." Rapunzel says awkwardly.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" He asks only to get no reply.

"You know what. Doesn't matter. I'm getting you out of that thing." He tells them and approaches Varian.

"Hey, you're Flynn Rider." Varian says amazed.

"No, you don't know me and can't prove anything." Flynn automatically replies.

"No, I'm your biggest Fan! I've looked at your wanted posters for hours. You're my hero." Varian tells him, revealing a Flynn Rider shrine.

"Well Hero is taking it a bit far." Flynn tells him.

"I've read every book about you." Varian tells him excitedly.

"Uhm, well you know I'm not the one from the book." Flynn explains but Varian is already lost in his fantasies and plays around with an electric powered sword.

Flynn and Varian leave the building to go to a shed where Varian keeps the machine needed to get Rapunzel's results and while they are in the shed Varian shows Flynn his underground machine with which he wants to provide hot water for his town, but the machine or rather machines, since Varian informs Flynn that he has 5 of them, are causing earthquakes all around the town.

* * *

When they are back Varian plugs in the machine and Flynn boasts around that he knows Varian's secret.

"So Eugene, you know a secret huh?" Cassandra asks.

"If you want to call it that, the boy… wait, I'm not going to fall for it." Flynn says, stopping himself from spilling the beans.

In the very same moment another earthquake, a stronger one hits and Flynn takes Varian outside to implore him to shut off his machines. Varian leaves to shut them off when another quake hits and Flynn hurries back to Rapunzel and Cassandra only for Tai to ask, "What's going on?" as Flynn passes him and Tai follows the former thief inside.

"Alright, only six tests and we're out of here. Leaving for a place far away from this one." Flynn says, checking the counter on the machine Rapunzel is strapped in.

"Flynn! What is going on?" Tai asks him threateningly.

"Oh uhm, don't worry. We should just be outta here when everything is blowing… Uhm I didn't say anything." Flynn says.

"Flynn what is happening?" Rapunzel asks him, veering her eyes away from Tai out of shame.

"Alright, you were right, I can't keep a secret. That kid has build 5 machines underground which are clearly instable and are going to blow up any moment." Flynn tells them and they can see gears shoot out of the earth through a window.

"That moment is now." Flynn corrects himself.

"Guys, get me out of here. Now." Rapunzel tells them scared and starts to struggle against her restraints while the counter ticks down to one.

"Guys, hurry!" Rapunzel tells the group when multiple blades start to circle around her on two rings.

Cassandra tries to stop the rings with her sword, only for it to get flung into the roof.

Tai grabs onto the two rings and gets pulled after them by their force and ends up stopping them at the back of the machine where he's holding the rings and presses his feet against the table.

"Cut her out, hurry!" Tai shouts at Flynn, nodding at his Katana and Flynn grabs the sword and cuts Rapunzel free.

"Cassandra." Rapunzel shouts, nodding outside where they can see Varian run across the town.

"You two save Rapunzel, I'm handling the boy." Cassandra tells them, running outside and to Varian, reaching him just in time to save him from getting crushed by flying debris.

"The tests are done. I need those results." Rapunzel says, struggling against her constraints while Flynn tries his best to free her from the leather bindings.

Tai falls to the floor once the machine stops and retreats the rings.

"Flynn, give it to me." Tai yells at Flynn over the noise of the building coming down around them and Flynn throws him his Katana. Tai quickly slices through both sides of the table Rapunzel is tied down on, freeing the blonde princess, who tries to get the results only for a beam of the roof to crash into the machine, breaking it.

"No." She shouts disappointed.

"We have to get out of here!" Flynn shouts, waiting for them at the exit. Not a second later a large part of the roof comes down in between them, leaving only a gap somewhere in the middle of the rubble.

"Do you trust me?" Tai asks Rapunzel, looking up at the hole a few meters up in the air.

"Tai, don't I order you to stop!" She shouts, guessing what he's going to do.

"Sorry love, I didn't hear you." He tells her and picks her up in his arms, throwing her towards the hole and through it while yelling "Flynn, catch!"

"Catch whaaaa…" He hears Flynn from the other side, followed by a loud thump, barely audible over the noise of the collapsing building.

"We're good." Flynn groans and he then runs outside while dragging Rapunzel along behind him, since she wants to help Tai.

Seconds after the two made it out of the building it collapses completely, burying Tai under a large amount of rubble.

"Tai!" Rapunzel yells sorrowfully.

"Blondie." Flynn says, concerned by her currently being no more than a crying mess.

Flynn runs towards the rubble and starts to dig through it.

Rapunzel sees this and joins him, following her trail of hair back to where Tai has to be.

"Eugene. He has to be under here!" Rapunzel shouts, reaching a large mountain of rubble.

"Quickly, maybe he's only pinned down or something. If he's one thing then he's a resilient bastard." Flynn says, starting to dig through the rubble with Rapunzel and after a bit they spot some of Rapunzel's hair and start to pull at it, causing the rubble around it to come down and reveal a dome of hair.

"Huh?" Rapunzel says, seeing a ball of her hair, only for it to fall down and Tai to fall out of it, falling to his knees in front of the two.

"Whoa." Flynn says shocked while Tai tries his best to catch his breath.

"Tai!" Rapunzel shouts, tears of happiness falling out of her eyes as she throws her arms around him.

"It's alright Rapz. I made it somehow." Tai tells her, brushing over the top of her hair lovingly.

She continues to hug him close to herself until Cassandra and Varian come over to the group and Rapunzel shoves him off of her and hits him across the face.

"Never do something like that again!" She yells furiously while crying and runs over to Cassandra hugging her best friend.

"What did you do?" Cassandra asks Tai, glaring at the guard, who's getting helped up by Flynn but only receives a deadly glare in return which shuts her up.

"Let's just get out of here." Tai grumbles annoyedly and gets on the horse he arrived on with Rapunzel.

As he makes his way past the princess, he offers his hand to her but she rides back to Corona with Cassandra instead.

* * *

|That evening – in the castle|

Tai is doing a perimeter sweep around the castle before he intends to head over to Rapunzel and go to sleep afterwards.

On his round he walks past a study where the King was doing some work.

"Tai, would you come in here please." The King says as he sees him walking past the room and Tai enters the study, closing the door behind him.

"Tai as you may have noticed, I was not all that happy that Rapunzel has fallen in love with you, a former pirate but for the sake of my daughter's happiness I was beginning to accept this fact. Imagine my surprise however when I find my little darling crying in her room just after she returned to the castle with you and Cassandra. So, I'm going to ask you directly, what did you do to my little girl?" The King asks him in a dangerous tone, staring at the young man.

"Nothing that should worry you." Tai says.

"Are you refusing to answer my question?" The King asks angrily.

"No, it's just that nothing happened. She was disappointed in a decision I made, maybe you won't have to bear a former pirate in your guard much longer." He tells the King with a slight bow.

"Hmpf. Alright but I'm watching you. You can continue your round." The King tells him and Tai finishes his round and heads over to Rapunzel`s chambers where he stands frozen in place in front of for a couple of minutes until Cassandra comes out of the room.

"The King is looking …" She says and he cuts her off, telling her, "already found me."

"What did you tell him?" Cassandra asks, fearing for her job a bit.

"Nothing, If he knew Rapunzel was in danger she'd have it even worse than back in the tower." Tai explains, leaning against the wall next to the princess's chambers, who unknown to the two has started to listen in on them since Cassandra left the door slightly ajar and she heard Tai's voice.

"So, what did he say?" Cassandra asks.

"Not much, I just told him that Rapunzel might not want me around much longer and he seemed content with that." Tai explains.

"Well I wouldn't be so sure about that. You should go see her." Cassandra tells him.

"Why do you think I've been standing here for the last 10 minutes?" Tai sighs.

"Just go in. As much as I don't understand you two for some reason she really loves you and your intentions seem to be honest as well." Cassandra tells him before she leaves to get to sleep.

* * *

After half a minute or so Tai enters Rapunzel's chambers and she's sitting on her large bed, facing the window.

"Uhm, princess I was hoping…" Tai says but Rapunzel interrupts him asking, "Do you want to leave?" in a sad tone.

"What?" He asks confused.

"I asked if you want to leave my side." She repeats, turning around to face him.

"No, of course not." He says quietly while going over to her and sitting down next to her.

"Then why would you purposefully anger my dad? I overheard bits and pieces just now." She asks.

"Rapunzel, if I tell him what happened and why you were sad, sure he might be ecstatic about my decision to protect you at all costs but at the same time he realizes that you were in danger and you're going to be locked up in this tower instead of the one out in the woods." He explains.

"Why`d you do it?" She asks quietly.

"What? Anger your father?" He asks.

"No, why'd you throw me through that gap?" She asks him, looking at him directly with sad eyes.

"Rapunzel. I know it wasn't fair but I just reacted. If you were harmed while I could have done something I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I know you can handle yourself to a large degree, even more than I give you credit for but I'm going to be honest right now, keeping you safe will always be my first priority. If you're not OK with that then we should end this now." Tai tells her sadly.

"Don't. Don't try to push me away because you were doing the right thing." She tells him.

"Tai, since you were being honest I think it's my turn now. I know I'm not exactly what anyone imagines a girl, especially a princess to be like. Adventurous and reckless, but that's just how I am. But if there is one thing I'm sure of then it's that for you I'd be willing to stop and live a quiet normal life with you at my side." She tells him, taking Tai's hand.

"I don't want you to. I like seeing you so excited and happy about even just little stuff. I just can't see you in danger and not do something about it." He says, caressing her hand gently.

"I'm so sorry for ordering you earlier. I know you were only worried about me and I totally abused my power." Rapunzel apologizes suddenly.

"Sorry for losing my cool and threatening your friend." Tai apologizes in return.

"So we're good?" She asks a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, we're fine." He confirms while pulling her over and gives her a gentle kiss.

"Say, can you…" She starts to ask.

"Sure." He agrees, already knowing what she wants and he takes off his chest armor and sword, lying them at the foot of her bed and lies down next to Rapunzel, who climbed into her bed in the meantime.

"Tai." She says softly once he's lying next to her.

"Yeah?" He asks.

"I love you." She says.

"I love you too." He replies and hugs the girl close to himself.

Once she's lying snuggled into his side Rapunzel lets her hand go under his shirt and she traces over the scars on his chest.

"Do these hurt?" She asks him gingerly.

"Sometimes when I overstretch them." Tai answers.

Rapunzel takes some of her hair and puts it over his wounds and sings a few phrases, only for nothing to happen.

"I'm sorry. I can't make them go away." She tells him disappointed.

"Hey, your hair already saved me three times. That's nothing to scoff at." Tai tells her, taking the hand she has on his chest and holds it tight.

* * *

AN: review pls :)


	4. Chapter 4

A few weeks later the Challenge of the brave is being held and Cassandra is already training diligently in her time off.

The day before the tournament Rapunzel went looking for Cassandra and comes across the raven-haired girl training at her self-made training course.

"Wow, Cassandra what's all this?" Rapunzel asks, seeing the obstacles for the first time.

"Oh that's nothing. I'm preparing myself of the Challenge of the brave. It's a tournament in corona where we determine the strongest fighter." Cassandra explains.

"Ohh, how can I sign up? That sounds exciting." Rapunzel says.

"Wait what?" Cassandra asks shocked.

"I want to sign up." Rapunzel repeats.

"You want to be a contestant?" Cassandra asks.

"Yeah, that way we can take part in it together." Rapunzel tells her and the children who've been watching the two women cheer excitedly.

"I'm sure it'd be fun if you were to take part but I don't think it's a good idea." Cassandra tells her.

"I'm brave and I love a challenge." Rapunzel says.

"The problem is that you have to be invited to this tournament and you weren't invited. Too bad." Cassandra lies.

"Oh, OK but I'm coming to cheer you on. I promise." Rapunzel tells her.

"Are you sure about that? I'm betting Tai will also take part, if not out of this own volition then surely chosen by the King to represent the guard." Cassandra informs her friend.

"I can cheer for both of you." Rapunzel replies.

* * *

|next day - tournament|

While the contestants prepare themselves for the competition the announcer get the crowd excited.

"Welcome to the Challenge of the brave. Fighters from across the lands are competing in various challenges, ending in the final brawl. Only the winner will have the respect of the 7 Kingdoms. Todays favorite is the most renowned fighter in the world. The meanest fighter to ever walk the earth, Coloss the destroyer."

In the crowd Flynn is overly excited about seeing Coloss in action and cheers him on, until he blows in an extremely loud horn, causing him to get placed in a seat further back.

In the meantime, Cassandra is shooting some targets while some of the other contestants laugh at her for being the princess's handmaiden.

Rapunzel arrives in the waiting area for the fighters and compliments a few fighters and greets hook foot with a hug.

"Hugs aren't appropriate around here, what are you even doing here?" Cassandra asks the princess, pulling her away from the sketchy competition.

"I wanted to wish you and Tai good luck, where is he anyways?" Rapunzel asks.

"Thanks, but I don't need luck. I'm using my time to psych out my competition. And I haven't seen him yet." Cassandra informs her.

"Psych out?" Rapunzel asks confused.

"I'm getting in their heads to throw them off their game." Cassandra explains and insults one of the fighters as example, only for it to fire back at her and she gets made fun of because Rapunzel is behind her.

"Rapunzel?" Tai asks, arriving from behind a tent.

"Tai! I've come to wish you good luck as well." Rapunzel tells him excited and gives him a hug.

"Thanks." Tai replies, returning the hug.

"And look, Cassandra is also competing. Won't that be fun?" Rapunzel asks him.

"Uhm, you know that I'll have to fight her right?" Tai asks his girlfriend.

"Sure, but it could still be fun right? You both love fighting so much." Rapunzel says.

"Well can't argue with that." Tai agrees, looking towards Cassandra with a stupefied expression while she looks at Rapunzel with annoyance.

Coloss then walks past them behind Rapunzel, who turns to Cassandra and sees the giant of a man towering over her.

"Oh, you are a big fellow." Rapunzel says surprised.

"Who do we have here? I didn't know pipsqueaks were allowed to compete." Coloss tells the three as Tai joins Cassandra while holding Rapunzel's hand so she won't run off and do something reckless.

"Pipsqueak? I promise you I'll rip you apart later." Cassandra retorts angrily.

"I'm looking forwards to bring everyone who cares about you to cry their eyes out after I'm through with you." Coloss tells her.

"Whoa, you don't have to be so mean." Rapunzel says, joining Cassandra's side.

"Alright, that's it. Listen I need to warm up so go look for Eugene. He has to be in the stands somewhere." Cassandra tells Rapunzel, pulling her towards the arena's entrance.

"Yeah, yeah I understand you have to be focused." Rapunzel replies and Cassandra goes back the waiting area.

"Listen, don't take it to heart. She's just itching to prove herself. And I have to say I'm glad you didn't get the crazy idea to join the contest. If your father were to find out about it, I'm quite sure he'd be furious and blame it on me somehow." Tai tells her.

"What you can just take part and don't have to be invited?" Rapunzel asks shocked and gets a nod positive in return.

"Uhm, I'll go to the stands then, good luck." Rapunzel tells him and gives him a quick peck before hurrying off to the stands, more specifically to the seat reserved for her family.

"Uhm, Dad you surely wouldn't mind if I take part in the competition right? Thanks!" Rapunzel asks her father and quickly takes off before he can object to her idea.

Back in the waiting area Tai walks up to Cassandra.

"Uhm, I've got a feeling Rapz will also be competing, just wanted to give you a heads up." He tells her and gets out his blade to clean it.

"Are you serious? Doesn't she realize that this isn't a good thing for her?" Cassandra asks disappointed.

"I think you're judging her wrong in that department. She's actually perfect for the competition, but I'm guessing if she's joining it's cause she wants to have fun." Tai replies.

"Hmpf." Cassandra scoffs and leaves to ready herself.

* * *

A few minutes later the competition is starting, and the contestants have all been announced, with Rapunzel joining in the last minute.

"Cassandra, oh we'll have so much fun." Rapunzel tells her best friend and gives her a hug.

"Uhm, Tai I'm sorry. But I asked my father so he'll know it's my own idea." Rapunzel apologizes to her boyfriend.

"Don't worry your pretty blonde head about it, I already knew you would join after seeing you run off like that." Tai tells her and gives her a quick peck on her temple.

"Alright everyone the first challenge is the hammer run!" The announcer says and the first contestant approaches the bridge with 6 hammers swinging back and forth at random, getting flung across the arena once he gets hit.

"The next contestant is Cassandra!" The announcer shouts. Cassandra approaches the obstacle and rolls under the first two hammers and uses the third one as jump-off point to soar over the remaining three with Rapunzel cheering her on all the while.

"The next one is princess Rapunzel!" The announcer shouts and Rapunzel gracefully dances through the obstacle, dodging the hammers with ease.

"Cassandra did you see that? I told you I can do it." Rapunzel says, walking over to her friend excited.

"Yeah, nice little dance but I doubt that will help you against Coloss in a hand to hand fight, but hey maybe you get lucky again." Cassandra tells her annoyed, pointing at Coloss who walks through the obstacle and lets the hammer hit his body without so much as flinching.

"That was no luck." Rapunzel says annoyed.

"Good job Rapz. Don't let Cassandra's mood drag you down. She just wants to be the center of attention for once and having a princess in the competition sort of spoils that." Tai tells her before the announcer calls him to the obstacle.

Tai simply stands in front of the obstacle and runs across, appearing on the other side of the bridge in a second or less, looking as if he were a blur.

After him a few more contestants take their turn and the next competition is target shooting.

Cassandra quickly hits all of her targets in bullseyes and Rapunzel is struggling with her bow until she decides to use a guitar and hits her arrow in a bullseye as well.

Coloss shoots the target next to hers and makes the whole contraption break from his enormous arrows.

On another target stand Tai is throwing some throwing knives at the target, hitting all 20 of them in bullseyes. The next discipline is the high jump and everyone clears the height with ease other than hook foot, who gets stuck on the bar with his hook. But Tai helps him down after everyone's finished.

The next competition is the lifting of weights and Cassandra picks up a smaller bag of rocks proudly while Rapunzel uses her hair in a pulley system to pick up the heaviest bag. Coloss picks up the heavy bag with one hand himself and Tai focuses his energy and kicks the ground in front of the heaviest bag with enough force to make it fly in the air and then kicks it across the arena.

"Does that count?" He asks the announcer, who nods his head while sweating heavily.

Cassandra then looks to the scoreboard and sees that Rapunzel is just behind her with herself being ranked third after Coloss and Tai.

The next competition is the floating log, where the contestants have to run over a log to stay afloat and not fall in the water below.

Cassandra, Tai and Rapunzel are competing on the same log with two more contestants, who quickly fall off the rolling log though.

When only the three are remaining Cassandra is angry at Rapunzel and loses her focus, falling in the water as well.

"Looks like it's only us." Tai tells Rapunzel, going closer to her while running over the log like her.

"Yeah, this is fun right?" She asks laughing.

"Yeah, but there has to be a winner, so sorry about this." Tai tells her and runs backwards, causing Rapunzel to lose her footing and fall only to be caught by Tai, who then throws her in the water playfully before diving after her, having won the competition.

When Rapunzel comes up in the water she's laughing while looking for her boyfriend, who suddenly appears in front of her.

"Hey gorgeous. I have to say even wet you look absolutely stunning, if not more so." Tai compliments her, straightening a few strands of hair out for her.

Rapunzel grins at this and dives underwater, pulling Tai along with her and once they're underwater she gives him a passion filled kiss which lasts until the two have to come back up for air.

"Whew. What was that all about?" He asks catching his breath.

"I didn't want everyone seeing us." Rapunzel tells him shyly, as she motions to the crowd.

"Good idea." He agrees and helps her out of the water, following just behind her.

"Alright Rapunzel, this has gone on long enough, call it a day." Cassandra tells her rudely.

"I will call it a day, the day I won the championship." Rapunzel tells her confidently.

"Ahem." Tai fake coughs.

"Or made second place." Rapunzel adds with a smile and elbows his side.

"Let's see where you land after the dead-man's circle." Cassandra tells her.

"Yeah, we'll totally see where we land after the dead man's circle." Rapunzel tells her before turning to Tai, asking "What is the dead man's circle?"

"It's the final event and your little dance won't safe you this time." Cassandra informs her.

Shortly after every contestant chose one weapon to compete with, giving it to someone who fetches them on a cart. Cassandra chooses her bow, Tai obviously his trusted Katana and Rapunzel takes a frying pan which was lying around.

When the man with the weapons cart goes by Cassandra however he loses the frying pan and doesn't notice it. Cassandra quickly hides the pan under a bench, feeling somewhat guilty for not giving her friend a fair chance but is convinced that this is the only way to make sure everyone knows what she can do.

* * *

When everyone gets ready to compete in the final event, which is an all out fight with the weapons in a large circle around a tall pole with a net going upwards to a viewing platform and stands outside the circle Rapunzel goes over to Cassandra.

"Hey, I know today has been weird, I just… I wanted to say good luck." Rapunzel says awkwardly.

Before Cassandra can reply however the announcer calls out the rules, which are that if someone leaves the circle they are out and that the last one standing will win.

"Ready, set, Battle!" The announcer counts down and everyone sprints towards the pole, where the weapons are located.

Coloss is the first one there and immediately hits another contestant out of bounds with his spiked club.

Cassandra gets her bow and fights Skullcrusher, who uses a staff.

"Wait, wait, wait. Has anyone seen a frying pan?" Rapunzel ask, not finding her weapon at the pole.

"Here, just don't hurt yourself." Tai tells her, handing her his Katana, which she reluctantly accepts.

"But then you won't…" Rapunzel says.

"Just use it as a club." Tai adivses her and catches a Warhammer before it hits him from behind. He throws his arm to the side, causing the attacker to lose their weapon. Tai quickly turns around and follows up with a front kick, sending the contestant skidding out of the ring.

Behind him Coloss is intend on taking out Rapunzel and rushes at her, only for Rapunzel to step aside, accidentally tripping him with her hair, causing the mountain of a man to crash into Skullcrusher.

Cassandra immediately gets rushed by another contestant from behind, but she hears him coming and flings him over her shoulder, throwing him out of the ring.

While this is going on Rapunzel and Tai fight back to back, with Rapunzel either dancing around the incoming attacks or blocking them with the sheathed Katana, while Tai uses quick kicks to send his foes out of the ring.

"Swing it!" Tai tells Rapunzel, seeing her face off against two men and simply dance around them.

"OK?" She says unsure and swings the Katana, hitting one man against his ribs and knocks him out of the ring.

"I did it." She says happily and jumps up in joy, over her last attacker, who wanted to tackle her legs from behind.

The man comes sliding to a halt in front of Tai, who easily picks him up by the scruff of collar and throws him out of the ring.

Upon seeing Rapunzel get lucky Cassandra and Coloss, who were about to face of chose to target her instead.

"Let me deal with her." Cassandra says, going over to Rapunzel, picking up the staff from Skullcrusher on her way. Coloss let's her be while intending to knock the two of them out of the ring while they are distracted.

Cassandra and Rapunzel start to fight, with Cassandra attacking her with her staff while Rapunzel dodges the first two attacks before having no time to do so and blocks the next three downwards strikes with Tai's Katana.

At the last block Rapunzel gets send skidding backwards, ending with her feet almost out of bounds.

In that moment Coloss decides to make his move and charges at Cassandra from behind, who is standing perfectly in line with Rapunzel.

Tai sees this and steps in front of Cassandra quickly, catching the large man, who rushes at him head -first in his palm, getting forced to take a step back, knocking over Cassandra in the process.

"Wrong move." Tai says and throws his hand to the side, pushing the large man back slightly in the process, he then crouches down before jumping up and kneeing him under his chin.

While Coloss is recovering from the attack Tai follows up with a strong kick to the man's head, sending him flying head-first out of the ring and towards the stands.

"We're supposed to be friends." Rapunzel tells Cassandra, helping her up only to get shoved away.

"Friends? A friend wouldn't be so oblivious Rapunzel, you have no idea what this contest means to me. I mean you're a princess and got nothing to prove. For you this is just a fun way to spend time, but for me this is a chance to show people I'm more than your lady in waiting and just as I thought I might get a tiny bit of respect, ah nevermind." Cassandra tells her sighing.

"Respect? Cassandra, I respect you more than you could possibly imagine. I mean, I look up to you. I only wanted to enter because I thought you me and Tai could have some fun together, but I should've realized how important this is to you. I'm so sorry." Rapunzel apologizes, dropping Tai's Katana.

"Hey, I'm OK with you dropping out but don't take it out on my sword." Tai whines, going over to fetch his Katana.

"Sorry about this sweety." Rapunzel says and jumps at him, intending to tackle him out of the ring. Tai's instinct kick in and he's about to draw his sword when he sees that Rapunzel is flying right at him and instead takes the impact, ending with the two of them out of bounds and Rapunzel lying on his chest.

"Like I said, sorry." Rapunzel apologizes to him with a kiss on his cheek.

"Ugh, just ask me to forfeit next time, I almost took your head off." Tai sighs worried about her recklessness as she gets off him, standing up.

"But you didn't." Rapunzel replies with a wink and goes over to Cassandra, after helping her boyfriend up.

Rapunzel raises Cassandra's hand in the air while the announcer brings over the trophy.

"You derserve this." Rapunzel tells her while Cassandra accepts the trophy and everyone cheers for her.

"Uhm, just so you know, you're going to explain this to your father." Tai tells Rapunzel, crossing his arms after putting his Katana back in its pace.

The contestants other than Coloss leave with Cassandra, hoisting the winner on their shoulder, leaving Tai and Rapunzel who follow the group out of the arena to head to the Castle.

* * *

"You were way to reckless today you know." Tai tells Rapunzel when they are in her chamber and Rapunzel puts on a fresh dress while Tai waits on the balcony.

"But I didn't get a scratch on me." She tells him proudly.

"Aha, here a splinter." Tai corrects her, kneeling down and taking the small piece of wood out of the soles of her foot.

"That's what you get for running around barefooted." Tai tells her and sits down on the ledge of her balcony.

"But…" Rapunzel is about to rebut.

"I know, it's part of your charm." Tai says, saving her the effort.

"You know I kind of don't like not having won the tournament." Tai tells her, hopping of the ledge and enters her room, lying down on her bed, looking up at a map of corona she drew on the ceiling.

"Can't you just give this to Cass? You saw how happy she was." Rapunzel asks him, following him to the bed, lying down next to him.

"It's just I've been the strongest one around for a long while, if I don't have that I'm not sure what I bring to the table anymore…" Tai explains with a sigh.

"How about a charming personality?" She asks, giving him a small peck.

"That's reserved for you." Tai replies.

"How about dashing good looks?" She asks, giving him a peck again.

"Only in your eyes, you saw how those handmaidens ran away screaming." Tai replies solemnly.

"How about…" Rapunzel is about to say something else but he cuts her off with a kiss.

"I appreciate you trying, but I don't think you'll find anything outstanding about me that isn't solemnly your opinion.

"Hmpf, well I'm sure a lot of people have things they don't like about me too." Rapunzel tells him.

"Hah, now that I think about it, I think only I, your family and Monte have problems with you." Tai tells her laughing.

"You have problems with me?" She asks shocked, sitting up and staring at him with hurt in her eyes.

"Relax sweetheart. I just don't like that you're so reckless, same goes for your family. And what's up with Monte I have no clue." Tai tells her supportively, taking her hand in his and pulling her onto him, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Promise you don't have any other problems with me?" She asks insecurely.

"I swear." He replies, kissing her nose.

"You know I have things I don't like about you too." She tells him teasingly.

"Oh you do? Do tell, do tell." Tai says.

"Like… and… hah, I don't like that you're often busy with guard duties." She tells him.

"Well if that's your only complaint… I mean if we get married, I wouldn't be a guard anymore so can I take this as your proposal?" He asks her teasingly.

"Wha…" She gasps blushing at the mention of marriage.

"Relax I was only teasing you. There is still a lot of time before we should decide things like that." He tells her gently, pulling her down for a kiss.

"Yeah and first you'd have to get my fathers blessing. Good luck with that Mr. Pirate." She replies giggling.

"Hmpf, I'd find a way. For you I'll do anything." Tai says confidently, making her blush while she relaxes in his arms, lying her head on his chest with them just enjoying being so close to one another without any distraction.

The next thing they know Pascal lands on Tai's face, coming in hot flying from the side, having used his tongue to pull himself onto the bed with too much force.

"Get off toad." Tai grumbles and Pascal shrieks away, crawling on top of Rapunzel's hair once he realizes that he landed on Tai, someone he doesn't want to mess with.


End file.
